


sick and pale with grief

by astratic



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Episode: s02e21 Destinies Collide, F/F, Graphic Description of Wounds, Hurt/Comfort, and a festering wound that is both metaphorical and very very literal, but not that much comfort, extrapolating on the extended effects of the decay spell, just before that actually, like just real gnarly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29962842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astratic/pseuds/astratic
Summary: Rapunzel sits across from her at the table, and Cassandra reluctantly uncovers her injured hand, trying not to grimace at the sickly-sweet smell of the infection she's been fighting off for a month now.She doesn't look at Rapunzel's face, and she certainly doesn't feel vindicated when she hears her dismayed intake of breath."Cassandra—""I thought we were done talking about it, Rapunzel.""I'm so sorry!"Cassandra looks at her, then, stony."That's a new one.""What?" Rapunzel is near tears."'Sorry.'"
Relationships: Cassandra & Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 52





	sick and pale with grief

**Author's Note:**

> ladies is it gay to sustain a grievous wound from dangerous chaos magic and then nurse it like a grudge against the woman you love while also harboring a softness and care even as you plot to betray her?

Cassandra carefully unwraps the bandages from her hand, sucking in air through her teeth.

"Cass?"

She jumps, attempting to hide the injury reflexively.

"Are you okay?" Rapunzel's voice is tight with alarm, and Cass sighs.

"For the millionth time, I'm fine, Rapunzel. Leave me alone, okay? I'm dealing with it."

"I—"

Cassandra shoots a venomous glance over her shoulder, and Rapunzel straightens, planting her feet.

"I won't leave, Cassandra. I need to know what's going on with you."

Cass thinks about lashing out, causing a scene. She thinks, and then she bites her tongue.  _ She'll get suspicious, _ she tells herself. She tells herself,  _ I just need her trust to get close to the Moonstone. _

"Okay. Suit yourself."

Rapunzel sits across from her at the table, and Cassandra reluctantly uncovers her injured hand, trying not to grimace at the sickly-sweet smell of the infection she's been fighting off for a month now.

She doesn't look at Rapunzel's face, and she certainly doesn't feel vindicated when she hears her dismayed intake of breath.

"Cassandra—" 

"I thought we were done talking about it, Rapunzel."

"I'm so sorry!"

Cassandra looks at her, then, stony.

"That's a new one."

"What?" Rapunzel is near tears.

"'Sorry.'" Cass takes a pair of scissors and uses them to cut lengths of fresh bandage, "Unfortunately, it doesn't matter. What's done is done."

"Cass. I know you're still angry, but I  _ definitely _ apologized before! I mean, I hurt you—"

"No, Rapunzel. No, you didn't apologize before. You want to know why I know?" She slams the scissors down on the table with more force than is necessary. "I was waiting. In all that talking it out you begged me to do, you only ever wanted to justify yourself. You didn't care how I was hurt or the consequences—you only wanted to make me stop being angry at you."

"Cass—"

"Save it. I said I'll get over it." Cassandra uses a clean rag to dab a stinging ointment on the withered, pitted skin of her forearm. Patches of dying tissue are surrounded by areas of angry inflammation. She has lost a lot of mobility in this hand, but she's getting better with her left, so it's been easy to hide, until now. Rapunzel looks horrified.

"Can I help you?" she begs, "Please?"

"Why? You don't have healing powers anymore, remember? Only…whatever this is." Cass brandishes her injury like a weapon.

Rapunzel looks away. "It's all I had, Cass."

"You had me!" she slams her fist down on the rough wood of the table without thinking, and wails as an explosion of pain rips through her arm, clutching it to her chest and doubling over.

"Cassandra!" Rapunzel vaults over the table and kneels beside her, reaching for her—but then hesitating.

Cass wipes her eyes and extends her trembling hand. The side of her palm has split open and is weeping blood and pus. Rapunzel grips her arm carefully at the elbow and leads it to rest on the table. She pulls up a chair beside Cass and takes up her cloth, gingerly cleaning the wound. Cassandra keeps her head down, and they sit in tense silence for several moments.

"You're right," says Rapunzel, finally, "I was selfish—I didn't worry enough about you and how you were doing. I only thought about how it affected me."

Silence.

"It doesn't excuse it, but I hope you know it's not on purpose. I—I didn't have anyone else around for so long, Cass. Just me, alone. It's hard for me to imagine how people are feeling sometimes if they don't tell me! And you—" she sighs, "I really am sorry. Truly. I didn't realize I hadn't said that before—I thought, with how awful I felt about it, I must have!"

"I know, Raps."

Cassandra looks up at her. Rapunzel smiles, but Cass doesn't return the gesture.

"I…acknowledge your apology. But—" 

As she trails off, Rapunzel's face falls, and she bites her lip. 

"Okay," She goes back to carefully tending to Cassandra's hand.

Cass finds herself wanting to yield, again—for the millionth time—to comfort her, but she resists.  _ It has to be this way _ , she tells herself,  _ I've already made my choice. _

But truly, she hasn't. She has felt like a lost child since they left the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow. Her injury keeps getting worse, and part of her—a bigger part than she would dare admit—just wants to cry into her best friend's shoulder and tell her everything. 

But—

"Cass, this looks really bad. We should get you to a doctor—"

Cassandra's heart races, suddenly, and for a moment she's gripped by the insane conviction that the princess has somehow heard her treasonous thoughts, and this suggestion is an intentional diversion.

She shakes her head vigorously, making a valiant effort to keep her voice even. "No. We're so close to the Dark Kingdom, Rapunzel. That's more important."

"Than you? No, it's not! It's waited nineteen years; it can wait a little longer so I can make sure you don't die!"

"Rapunzel."

"You've kept this wound hidden for a month now, and it's so much worse than—"

"I said no!" Cassandra shouts, much too loudly for the cramped space inside the caravan, "You will not divert your destiny for me!" Her voice lowers until she's nearly growling, "Or are you going to command me,  _ Your Highness _ ?"

Rapunzel's mouth hangs open slightly. She looks away, "No. I won't."

Cass jerks her hand away and finishes fastening the bandage herself, jamming her fingers back into her gauntlet quickly enough that it's painful, but she doesn't let on.

"Good," she spits, standing and making her way to the door. "We'll set out in the morning."

She lets it slam behind her.

**Author's Note:**

> i am working on a big season 3 fix it fic and this is kind of a prologue to that but because its just sort of for flavor and is the only part thats canon compliant (and also the only part thats finished) i decided to post it as its own thing and then eventually link it to the big fic as part of a series. the long fic is well over 20k so far and very unfinished. i have never written anything this long in my life before so if anyone would like to chat about ideas and maybe give feedback on my wip PLEASE message me on tumblr @astratic.
> 
> anyway uhhhhhhhh i care about cassandra tangled


End file.
